It’s February. This month Franz is in Buffalo NY. It’s minus twenty with the wind chill.
So naturally, we shipped a release candidate.
If you missed this month’s Town Hall, here’s what matters, why it matters, and what you should test next.
Concrete CMS 9.5.0RC1 Is Here
The biggest news this month is the release of Concrete CMS 9.5.0 Release Candidate 1.
This is a feature-complete preview of what’s coming in the full 9.5.0 release. It’s not production-ready yet, but it’s absolutely ready for staging environments and real-world testing.
Twig Templating Support, Everywhere
By far the largest update in 9.5.0 is full support for Twig in the view layer.
You can now use Twig in:
- Theme template files
- Block view templates
- Authentication templates
- Elements
- Anywhere there’s a view layer in Concrete
Instead of raw PHP, you can build templates using Twig’s clean, structured syntax.
If templating languages used to feel like extra overhead, this one doesn’t. Twig has been around for years, is well-supported, and offers a much cleaner developer experience.
It reduces logic inside templates and helps prevent accidental unsanitized output. That means cleaner code and more secure custom builds.
And no, nothing is forced. Twig is completely optional. Everything remains fully backward compatible.
But if you’re building custom themes or blocks, it’s worth exploring.
Quality Improvements and Long-Requested Fixes
Beyond Twig, 9.5.0 includes several practical improvements.
One fix many have asked for: page type defaults are now editable by users who actually have the proper permissions. Previously, only the super user could modify them, even when permissions were configured correctly. That issue has been resolved.
There are also numerous smaller quality-of-life enhancements across the core.
PHP 8.4 and 8.5 Support
9.5.0 also clears the path for improved support of newer PHP versions.
Dependency issues that previously complicated Composer installs with PHP 8.4 and 8.5 are being addressed. Once 9.5.0 is fully released, upgrading your PHP environment should be significantly smoother.
As always: test your upgrade in staging first. A release candidate is the ideal time to validate your workflow before production deployment.
Marketplace Updates
Three new additions landed in the Marketplace this month.
CSS Flip Cards by Steve Beach — $15
This add-on lets you display an image as a flippable card. Flip it over and reveal additional content on the back.
Great for team bios, feature highlights, and interactive content sections without heavy JavaScript frameworks.
Macareux Logs Cleaner— $25
A CLI command designed to clear log files with advanced options, including:
- Backing up logs to CSV
- Filtering what gets cleared
- Previewing changes before execution
If you manage production environments, this is a practical maintenance tool.
HTMX Integration for Concrete CMS — Free
This package provides the tools needed to use HTMX within Concrete CMS.
HTMX allows you to build interactive interfaces directly in HTML without adopting a full SPA framework like React or Vue.
The package doesn’t build components for you. It gives you the foundation to integrate HTMX into your own blocks and pages.
Site in the Wild: New York State Military Museum
This month’s featured site is the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, built by Web Instinct & 2K Design.
The navigation is deep and thoughtfully structured, especially within unit histories and archival content. Alphabetical navigation for forts and dedicated flag sections make large content libraries accessible and usable.
It’s a strong example of information architecture done right. Clean, clear, and research-friendly without assuming prior knowledge.
Thank You to the Community
Concrete CMS continues to thrive because of its contributors.
Thank you to everyone who submitted documentation updates, GitHub issues, testing feedback, and Marketplace contributions this month.
Open source works because people show up.
What to Do Next
- Spin up a staging environment.
- Test 9.5.0-RC1.
- Test your themes and custom blocks.
- Experiment with Twig in a new template.
- Report any issues or feedback.
The release candidate phase is about validation. Your testing helps ensure a smooth final release.
That’s it for February.
Stay warm. See you next month.